3 Three dimensional figures of Rama, Lankshmane (Rama’s brother) and Sita are used in the Dashahara festival for the Ramilla. Delhi, 20th century.

4 Figure of a Lambadi woman from Gujarat performs a tribal dance with a copper vassel balanced on her head. 20th century.

5 Indian folk painting used in Rajastan by a traveling bard as background while he recites, dances and mimes the story of the hero Pabuji Rathore. The painting depicts scenes from the hero’s life. Mewar, Rajastan, late 19th century.

6 Cloth hangings with woodblock designs show Brahma, patron of the theather, and his consort Sarasvati, patroness of music. Andhra Pradesh, 20th century.

7 In the basket are Rajasthani marionettes used to tell stories of the Rajput princes, of knightly exploits, and of loves lost and found. Rajasthan early 20th century.

8 Peacock feather crowned headdress of the Pootham actor, used by Perawannams of South India, involves a very formal and difficult theater tradition. South Malabar 20th century.

9 Chhau mask of Ravanna, demon king of Lanka, enemy of Rama. State of Seraikella , Bihar 20th century.

Following the style of TRIBALEGLOBALE some pictures of the Oceanic pieces actually on display in the exhibition of Savona are here mixed , contaminated, with Himalayan items, in an archetipic dialogue of forms and symbols between the arts of the people of these two far continents.

The pictures of the MAP, THE MUSEUM OF PRIMARY ART, are kindly courtesy of the Curator of the Museum and of the TRIBALEGLOBALE project, Mr Giuliano Arnaldi.

Since 1997, Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman have been using digital video to document the cultural complex of Thangmi shamanism and its related cosmology.

Below are five links of short clips of Thangmi shamans conducting rituals which include cutting hair for purification before ritual practice, a narration of the Thangmi origin myth, a healing ritual in Damarang (Dolakha district, Nepal), and an exorcism ritual and subsequent healing ritual in Kodari (Sindhupalcok district, Nepal).

1) Thangmi Shaman Film: Rana Bahadur Cutting His Hair

This film clip shows the senior shaman (or guru in Thangmi) Rana Bahadur having his head shaved by a relative in preparation for an important ritual. Rana Bahadur shared a great deal of his knowledge with anthropologists Shneiderman and Turin before he passed away in late 2002.

This film clip shows the senior shaman (or guru in Thangmi) Rana Bahadur narrating a section of the Thangmi origin myth. He beats a plate to the rhythm of his chanting. Rana Bahadur shared a great deal of his knowledge with anthropologists Shneiderman and Turin before he passed away in late 2002.

This film clip shows the young shaman (or guru in Thangmi) Jit Bahadur, the son of Rana Bahadur, beating his drum and going into trance to exorcise the malevolent spirits which have caused a young woman to be ill. The film was shot in complete darkness in an attempt to accurately illustrate the atmosphere of a shamanic seance.

This film clip shows the senior shaman (or guru in Thangmi) Jhankri Maila, preparing flour effigies of the spirit world on a bamboo winnowing tray. After the preparations are complete, he commences the ritual which is a healing ritual for a young woman who has been feeling unwell for some time.

This film clip shows the senior shaman (or guru in Thangmi) Jhankri Maila, with a patient. After asking some preliminary questions about his general health and diet, he checks the patient’s pulse and heart and blows the infection away. Afterwards, they share a cigarette.

“….I was perplexed because the three sites I had found between Trichinopoly and Madura in that first trip were so extraordinary, so exciting, that I couldn’t believe what I was later to verify through foremost authorities in London and Paris: that the village gods (Grama Devatas) were virtually unknown except to a few theologians and anthropologists…” (Harry Holtzman)

AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS THE UNIQUE HARRY HOLTZMAN FIELD DOCUMENTATION OF 130 SHRINES OF THE SOUTH INDIA VILLAGE GODS , GRAMA DEVATAS, IS WHAT REMAIN OF A LOST WORLD.

In a letter of November 6 1966, the late Art historian of South Asian art Ms Stella Kramrisch (1896 Nikolsburg (now Mikulov), Czech Republic – 1993 Philadelphia, PA) , at that time Curator of Indian Art of the Philadelphia Museum of Art asked and then obtained some photographs from the late American Artists Mr Harry Holtzman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Holtzman (1912 NYC – 1987 Lyme Ct) for her scheduled exhibition on traditionally Indian village Art “Unknown India Ritual Art in Tribe and Village”(Philadelphia Museum of Art 1968). (Source: Harry Holtzman paper, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven CT USA).

AFTER MORE THAN 50 YEARS THE UNIQUE HARRY HOLTZMAN FIELD DOCUMENTATION OF 130 SHRINES OF THE SOUTH INDIA VILLAGE GODS IS WHAT REMAIN OF A LOST WORLD.